We evaluated the correlation between soil organic carbon (OC) content and metabolic responses of Eisenia fetida earthworms after exposure to phenanthrene (58 ± 3 mg/kg) spiked into seven artificial soils with OC contents ranging from 1 to 27% OC. Principal component analysis of 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of aqueous extracts identified statistically significant differences in the metabolic profiles of control and phenanthrene-exposed E. fetida in the 1% OC soil only. Partial least squares analysis identified a metabolic response in the four soils with OC values ≤11% which was well correlated to estimated phenanthrene porewater concentrations. The results suggest that the higher sorption capability of high OC soils decreased the bioavailability of phenanthrene and the subsequent metabolic response of E. fetida.

This study investigated the trophic transfer of microplastic from mussels to crabs. Mussels (Mytilus edulis) were exposed to 0.5 μm fluorescent polystyrene microspheres, then fed to crabs (Carcinus maenas). Tissue samples were then taken at intervals up to 21 days. The number of microspheres in the haemolymph of the crabs was highest at 24 h (15 033 ml−1 ± SE 3146), and was almost gone after 21 days (267 ml−1 ± SE 120). The maximum amount of microspheres in the haemolymph was 0.04% of the amount to which the mussels were exposed. Microspheres were also found in the stomach, hepatopancreas, ovary and gills of the crabs, in decreasing numbers over the trial period. This study is the first to show ‘natural’ trophic transfer of microplastic, and its translocation to haemolymph and tissues of a crab. This has implications for the health of marine organisms, the wider food web and humans.

Extensive use of biochar to mitigate N2O emission is limited by the lack of understanding on the exact mechanisms altering N2O emissions from biochar-amended soils. Biochars produced from giant reed were characterized and used to investigate their influence on N2O emission. Responses of N2O emission varied with pyrolysis temperature, and the reduction order of N2O emission by biochar (BC) was: BC200 ≈ BC600 > BC500 ≈ BC300 ≈ BC350 > BC400. The reduced emission was attributed to enhanced N immobilization and decreased denitrification in the biochar-amended soils. The remaining polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in low-temperature biochars (300–400 °C) played a major role in reducing N2O emission, but not for high-temperature biochars (500–600 °C). Removal of phenolic compounds from low-temperature (200–400 °C) biochars resulted in a surprising reduction of N2O emission, but the mechanism is still unknown. Overall, adding giant reed biochars could reduce N2O evolution from agricultural soil, thus possibly mitigating global warming.

During the last decades, awareness regarding persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), has become a cutting-edge topic, due to their toxicity, bioaccumulation and persistency in the environment. Monitoring of PCDD/Fs and PAHs in air and water has proven to be insufficient to capture deposition and effects of these compounds in the biota. To overcome this limitation, environmental biomonitoring using lichens and aquatic mosses, have aroused as promising tools. The main aim of this work is to provide a review of: i) factors that influence the interception and accumulation of POPs by lichens; ii) how lichens and aquatic bryophytes can be used to track different pollution sources and; iii) how can these biomonitors contribute to environmental health studies. This review will allow designing a set of guidelines to be followed when using biomonitors to assess environmental POP pollution.

The long-term ecological risk of micropollutants, especially endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) has threatened reclaimed water quality. In this study, estrogenic activity and ecological risk of eight typical estrogenic EDCs in effluents from sewage plants were evaluated. The estrogenic activity analysis showed that steroidal estrogens had the highest estrogenic activity (ranged from 10−1 to 103 ng-E2/L), phenolic compounds showed weaker estrogenic activity (mainly ranged from 10−3 to 10 ng-E2/L), and phthalate esters were negligible. The ecological risk of the estrogenic EDCs which was characterized by risk quotient ranged from 10−4 to 103, with an order in descending: steroids estrogens, phenolic compounds and phthalate esters. The eight estrogenic EDCs were scored and sorted based on the comparison of the estrogenic activity and the ecological risk, suggesting that 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), estrone (E1) and estradiol (E2) should be the priority EDCs to control in municipal sewage plants.

Disposal options for salty and selenium-laden agricultural drainage sediments are needed to protect the agricultural ecosystem in Central California. Thus, a 7-year pilot-scale field study evaluated the effects of disposing Se-laden drainage sediment onto soil that was planted with either salado grass (Sporobolus airoides ‘salado’) or cordgrass (Spartina patens ‘Flageo’), or on soil left bare with and without irrigation. Significant decreases in salinity and water-extractable and total soil Se concentrations were observed in all treatments to a depth 30 cm, while water extractable Se and salinity increased most significantly between 30 and 60 cm. Total yields increased over time for both species, while plant Se concentrations were ≈10 and 12 mg kg−1 DM for salado and cordgrass, respectively. The results show that Se and soluble salts disposed of as Se-laden drainage sediment onto light textured soils will significantly migrate to lower depths with or without vegetation.

The distribution and speciation of arsenic (As) were analyzed in individuals of various life stages of a midge, Chironomus riparius, and the mosquito Culex tarsalis exposed to 1000 μg/l arsenate. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) revealed that C. riparius larvae accumulate As in their midgut, with inorganic arsenate [As(V)] being the predominant form, followed by arsenite [As(III)] and an As-thiol. Reduced concentrations of As in pupal and adult stages of C. riparius indicate excretion of As between the larval and pupal stages. In adults, As was limited to the thorax, and the predominant form was an As-thiol. In Cx. tarsalis, As was not found in high enough concentrations to determine As speciation, but the element was distributed throughout the larva. In adults, As was concentrated in the thorax and eyes of adults. These results have implications for understanding the biotransformation of As and its movement from aquatic to terrestrial environments.

The objective of the present study was to characterise the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) content of an aged contaminated soil and to propose remediation techniques using cyclodextrins (CDs). Four CDs solutions were tested as soil decontamination tool and proved more efficient in extracting PAHs than when an aqueous solution was used; especially two chemically modified CDs resulted in higher extraction percentages than natural β-CD. The highest extraction percentages were obtained for 3-ring PAHs, because of the appropriate size and shape of these compounds relative to those of the hydrophobic cavities of the CDs studied. A detailed mechanistic interpretation of the chemical modification of CDs on the extraction of the different PAHs has been performed, and connected with the role that the different hydrophobicities of the PAHs play in the extraction behaviour observed for the 16 PAHs, limiting their accessibility and the remaining risk of those PAHs not extractable by CDs.

The fate and exposure risks of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in marine environments are not well-understood. In this study we developed a multi-residue analytical method for quantifying concentrations of forty target compounds in seawater from Singapore. Analyses of samples (n = 24) from eight sites showed the occurrence of several compounds, including gemfibrozil (<0.09–19.8 ng/L), triclosan (<0.55–10.5 ng/L), carbamazepine (<0.28–10.9 ng/L) and ibuprofen (<2.2–9.1 ng/L). A 3D hydrodynamic model for Singapore was used to predict residence time (tR). Principal Components Analysis revealed a strong relationship between tR and contaminant concentrations. While source emissions are undoubtedly important, proximate distance to a wastewater treatment plant had little influence on concentrations. The site with the greatest tR, which exhibited the highest concentrations, is adjacent to Singapore's largest protected wetland reserve. The results highlight an important linkage between hydrodynamic behavior and contaminant exposure risks in complex coastal marine ecosystems.

A chronological sequence of urban soils 3–92 years old was studied to determine the effects of time on morphogenesis, artifact weathering, and the geochemical partitioning of Pb. Key chronofunctions determined are an increase in ˆA horizon Development Index (defined herein based on soil color) and water-soluble Pb, and a decrease in pH and C/N, with increasing soil age. Key artifact weathering reactions are: 1) portlandite in mortar altered to calcite, 2) ferrite in wrought-iron altered to ferrihydrite and goethite, and 3) carbonaceous materials altered to water-soluble organic substances. Mortar and wrought-iron were found to be Pb-bearing, but weather to produce immobilizing agents. Hence, they are both a source and a sink for Pb. The origin and mobilization of water-soluble Pb is complex and probably includes microbial extracellular polymeric substances, biodegraded soil organic matter, and solubilized organic substances derived from carbonaceous anthropogenic microparticles (soot, char and coal-related wastes).